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Racing with the boys: El Pasoan Dede Rogers tackled man's world of Indy

by Evan Mohl \ El Paso Times

Posted:
05/28/2011 12:00:00 AM MDT

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Dede Rogers, who owned an open-wheel racing team, sits in her West Side home surrounded by memorabilia including a photograph of the car that was driven by Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion, and a suit worn by Joey Hand who raced for Rogers and was instrumental in her winning the Owner of the Year Award in 2003.

Dede Rogers was an up-and-comer with big dreams. She worked her way up, slowly climbing the ladder. The El Pasoan believed in open-wheel racing, and the importance of placing the sport within the hands of Americans. The only two Americans to win the Indianapolis 500 since 2000 -- Buddy Rice and Sam Hornish Jr. -- blossomed under her stewardship.

Yet as one of America's biggest racing spectacles begins Sunday, Rogers will be a fan, watching from the sidelines. She'll sit down in front of the television and watch one of her former drivers, Rice, with great interest and try to claim his second jug of milk at the Indy 500.

Rogers doesn't own a car anymore.

Though the passion still burns for racing, the El Paso native got out of the business almost seven years ago for economic reasons.

"I had a lot fun," Rogers said. "And I certainly miss it. But the cost was just too much."

The connection, though, is still strong.

In the beginning

Rogers started racing as a hobby. She took a class with an ex-husband and immediately connected to the sport: the speed, the fast pace, the danger. Rogers always liked being on edge.

So in 1994, the 1975 graduate of El Paso High started a motorsports company. She called it DSTP, an acronym Rogers learned from her father and former El Paso Mayor Jonathan Rogers. It stands for "Don't spend the principal."

Rogers chose 27 as the car number in honor of her brother Mac Rogers, who died of a heart condition at the age of 27.

"I wanted it to be something special," Rogers said.

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"So I thought of my family."

Rogers began at the Dodge Shelby Pro Series. She quickly moved up to the U.S. F2000 National Championship a year later.

Though she lacked experience in the motorsports business, Rogers made a splash with her panache and passion, quickly making a name for herself.

Rogers' larger-than-life and over-the-top personality quickly won people over. She loved to have a good time, hanging out with everyone and going to dinner parties.

That extended to her car and employees. Rogers got her feet wet on the ground floor, helping out whenever and wherever. She watched races from the infield, always hands-on in the middle of everything.

"I remember her outgoing personality," race-winning driver Rice said. "She was always willing to help everyone, even an opponent. She's a social butterfly. You gravitated to her."

Rogers let her love of motorsports run the show. Money was never an issue. Winning, racing and having fun mattered.

Right company

Rogers never got a major sponsor for DSTP. She didn't want to answer to someone else or corporate interests. She wanted to run her company her way with a focus on the sport she loved.

"It's a huge difference when there's a personal investment and it's not just money," Rice said. "She was happy, so we were happy. You can just race. It's about the sport."

It's why she put an emphasis on homegrown talent. Rogers thought racing had gotten away from its roots, and had become solely about the establishment and money. That had cost American fans, who had grown up rooting for A.J. Foyt and Al Unser.

So Rogers handpicked American drivers such as Memo Gidley and Alex Barron. Hornish, who had one of the greatest performances in Indy 500 history, also had a stint with Rogers. Hornish won in 2006, coming from a lap behind to beat Marco Andretti by .0635 seconds.

"It was really important to me," Rogers said. "For the sport to succeed and for me, I thought Americans had to be involved."

Her decision garnered respect and appreciation, especially from employees and drivers.

"It can be hard to get a spot and make your way up," Rice said. "Dede took some of those barriers away."

A woman owner in a man's world posed its challenges, too. Some doubted Rogers, and she certainly got grief. It came mostly in jest, Rogers said, but locker-room fodder has its effects.

Rogers even admitted making mistakes. She spent money where she shouldn't have. In some ways, she rushed into the motorsports world without knowing all the ins and outs.

Yet Rogers overcame it all with her Texas charm and outlandish personality. People couldn't help liking her. She lit up a room with her warmth and booming voice. Thousands claim to be her friends.

Rogers also worked tirelessly to learn and help. She only wanted American drivers, and that passion, and dedication to the sport, was contagious.

And, most important, she won.

"She was and is a very big part of my career success," said former driver Joey Hand.

In 2000, Rogers moved to CART Toyota Atlantic Championship, one step below the country's top-level CART Series. She blazed as Rice won the championship in their first year.

Hand picked up right where Rice left off. He won the Rookie of the Year in 2001 as he finished third in the standings.

By 2003, DSTP competed in 47 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship events. The group captured seven wins and 18 podiums, helping Rogers earn Owner of the Year -- the second woman ever to accomplish the feat.

It was, however, Rogers' final act. The expenses of running a team, particularly without a sponsor, had grown too much to be competitive. Rogers estimated she spent at least $1 million her final year.

"It was a heck of a ride," Rogers said.

Leaving her mark

Now, Rogers spends more time at home in El Paso. She volunteers. She plays a prominent role with the Porsche Club and the Dustball Rally -- a 1,500-mile scavenger hunt in exotic cars that starts and ends in El Paso.

But the racing itch still needs scratching. Rogers attends several races a year. She almost always watches from the infield, as cars whiz past her, creating that familiar breeze across her face. The adrenaline rush, the excitement of cars going more than 200 mph, never gets old, she said.

Rogers was in Florida when Hand became Rogers' second former driver, along with Rice, to win the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona.

Though she's left the sport, her impact and hand prints are still all over it.

It's a theme Rice wants to continue for the second time in his career when the 33 -- just 11 American -- Indy 500 drivers start their engines Sunday.

Rogers will be watching, of course, as she always has. Only she won't be in Indianapolis. She'll be in a living room keeping an eye on a protégé she helped build in the business she loves and once excelled at.

"It's disappointing she's gone because she made her mark," Rice said. "She has charisma and passion and gave a lot of opportunities to people. Other owners come along, but it's not always the same."